A rail modernisation programme across all three Baltic States has recruited US firm Esri to provide location intelligence and geographic information for 870 kilometres of rail track. Esri will also help Rail Baltica build a digital twin of the rail infrastructure of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Rail Baltica is an ongoing project to electrify and modernise rail infrastructure across the breadth of the three Baltic States. The aim is to improve rail connections, including both passenger and freight services, between each of the Baltic States and central and northern Europe.

RB Rail AS has engaged Esri to help project engineers plan, construct and manage maintenance tasks within the modernisation programme. Esri’s geographic information system (GIS) will be integrated across all project units working on rail modernisation.

Esri’s ArcGIS software will be used as a connection hub, and all asset data will be stored and handled in a unified spatial database. The system will serve as a foundation for implementing a digital twin of the Rail Baltica rail infrastructure.

“As the Rail Baltica project progresses, the amount of data that needs to be managed grows significantly, as do the needs of its GIS users, so the Esri Enterprise Agreement was a natural choice to ensure strengthening the capabilities of GIS in the Rail Baltica project,” said Raitis Bušmanis, head of the Virtual Design and Construction department at RB Rail AS, the Rail Baltica joint venture.

“GIS technology is universal and allows integration of various data formats and easy sharing of information with project partners—for example, to review design data, monitor construction progress, track deadlines, and manage and maintain asset registers,” continued Bušmanis. “We believe that collecting the design and construction data during those stages will have a huge benefit during the operations and maintenance phases, making them more efficient and cost-effective. Good quality and structured data are key components for assuring sustainable operations of the Rail Baltica digital infrastructure, and Esri’s ArcGIS solutions can help us get there.”

The integrated geographic approach of the GIS system will allow railway personnel to make necessary adjustments in near real time and plan routes to be less environmentally impactful.

“We are proud to sign this agreement with RB Rail AS, representing the application of GIS across its enterprise as the foundation of a system of systems,” said Ian Koeppel, Esri’s international business development lead for transportation markets in Europe. “Enabling these large international projects to create location-intelligent digital twins is a big step toward building a sustainable European infrastructure network.”